Disclaimer—I don't own or make claim to the characters from The Walking Dead. I only own my original characters. 

Well, here we are. On our way to their community. I glance at the man to my right in my passenger seat. He offered to help us get our stuff, but I told him we had what we needed and after a week, if we decided to stay, then we could go back and get the rest of it. The important stuff is in the van. He insisted he and Carl ride with us to show us the way.

He glances up seeing me looking his way. "It's not far now," he comments. "Alexandria is really something. I think you and your family are going to like it."

Soon I can see walls coming into view at the end of the street. I see a gate and stop in front of it. Rick looks at me. "Welcome to Alexandria," he says. "Just park here and we'll move the van later."

"OK, grab your stuff kids,"I say as we start getting out of the van. The gate is open for us now, Carol, Darryl and Aaron had arrived ahead of us and were watching for our arrival. They stand at the gate waiting.

As we walk through the gate I can hear it sliding closed behind us. I turn and glance, hoping I haven't made a mistake and these people are as good as the kids think they are. I swing back around and Rick is standing there waiting for me. He motions me forward.

"We'll want to interview you all later, but first let's get you settled in," he says.

"Interview?" I question.

"Yeah, the former leader of this place would interview everyone she let in, just asking some general questions about them, what they saw out there, their old life, stuff like that," he explained. "We've kept it up since we lost her."

"How did you lose her?" I ask.

"In that incident we told you about, with the wolves and the walkers," he replies. Carol catches up to us and joins us walking down a street. We just passed a whole bunch of solar panels on the right and I see a row of townhomes coming up. On the left I see a lake behind some homes. Wow, this place is unbelievable. The homes are huge. So...a luxury community is a haven from the dead now?

"If you lost your leader, who is your leader now?" I ask. It'll be good to know who I need to deal with.

"Rick's the leader," Carol answers. I glance at them. Of course he is. Hmmm. I should have known by the way everyone looked to him to make a decision about us earlier.

We take a street to the left and walk down about a block further. We approach some homes on the right and slow. Rick gestures to a large home and says, "Here is your house."

"My house?" I question. "You're just giving me a house?"

"Yeah, this is yours. Well your family's. We figured you'd need a bigger one because there are so many of you. You're lucky, there aren't many large families left anymore."

I'm speechless, looking at this house. It's huge with a nice wraparound porch. Something I would have loved even before the end of the world. The kids come running up excitedly. "Is this where we're going to stay?" asks Jordan.

"Yep, this is your house," replies Carol. "Why don't you go check it out and get settled in? I'm going to swing by the pantry and get you some supplies. You explore, get settled in. Rick's house is just right next door if you need anything and I'm just across the street over there," she points.

The kids are vibrating with excitement and grab my hands and pull me up the steps to the house. I look behind me at Carol and Rick and they are standing with satisfied looks on their faces at the kids excitement. Rick calls out to me, "Go ahead, I'll swing by in a couple hours to take you over for your interview. There's even hot water and towels if you're interested."

Hot water? The kids squeal in excitement and race into the house. I stare at him in disbelief and turn and slowly walk into the house after them. What IS this place? How is it still functioning? I enter the front door and my hand automatically goes out to the light switch. Lights come on overhead. I stare in amazement and then turn them off again. Wow. Electricity and running water. How is this place still standing? I close the door behind me.

After a lot of running around, giggling and squealing as they test everything out, things have finally calmed down. I leave the kitchen where I was testing everything and head upstairs. Annie pokes her head out of a room. "Hey Mom."

"Hey," I say. She points down the hall. "We saved the master bedroom for you. There's enough rooms for us all to have our own, can you believe it?? Jordan already claimed the attic room." Just then he pokes his head down the stairs and waves. "This is awesome!" he declares, before disappearing again.

Kayla steps out of another door and steam follows her out. She's wrapped in a towel with one around her head as well. She sighs in bliss. "It feels so good to be clean again! OK, Annie, all yours now." Kira pokes her head out of another door down the hall--I assume this is her room. "Wait, what about me?" she asks. Annie rolls her eyes at her, "I'll be fast, don't worry!" She runs into the bathroom and locks the door.

I have to chuckle at their antics. Wow, this brings back memories of them fighting for hot water. I walk down the hall to the door at the end. Opening the door I walk into a very large bedroom. There is a huge bed with a nook by the bay window with a small loveseat and chair. I stare. Nothing feels real. I dump my backpack on the floor and continue on into the master bath. It's huge with a jet tub and shower. I suddenly can't stand the filth one moment longer. I have time to figure this place out, but for now I can be clean. I strip down and find myself in a steaming hot shower. I close my eyes as some tears find their way out amidst the water beating down on me. Please let this be real, I think to myself. Please let this be a good place, a home my children can stay at and be safe.

I emerge from the shower and wipe down the mirror so I can see. I stare back at my reflection. I almost don't recognize myself without all the grime that you never seem to completely get rid of on the road. My hair looks brunette again after getting all the grim out of it.  My face is thinner than I ever remember seeing it in my life with my green eyes popping out in relief against my pale face. Wow. I have cheekbones. Makes sense, I've used up almost all of my fat deposits. Heh, all I needed was the apocolypse to take off those last stubborn pounds. I smile to myself and turn to get my backpack to find some clean clothes to put on. Well, relatively clean with what we had access to on the road. I pull on some jeans and a tank top. It's still hot. Hmmm, I wonder if this place has A/C? I roll my eyes at myself. Even if it does, I doubt the solar panels support the whole town cranking up their A/C. Gotta save it for the important stuff.

I grab my dirty clothes and eye my filthy bra. No, I think, I can't put that back on right now. I throw it in the pile and go through the kids rooms and hallway bathroom gathering up all the dirty clothes. I even find a laundry basket to put them in. All the girls are showered and Jordan is finishing his up now. Nice, the whole family is clean. I carry the laundry basket downstairs thinking I can use the big kitchen sink to clean our clothes. This will be easier to do laundry than it has been for a while. As I set the laundry basket down on the counter I hear a knock on the door.

I open the door to the sight of both Carol and Rick with baskets of supplies. "We're back with some supplies for you!" Carol sings as they walk in. I see Rick eyeing me as he walks past and now I feel very self-conscious without a bra. I follow them into the kitchen. Carol is already unloading supplies onto the counter. There is food, dish soap, dishes for us to eat from, and then I spot laundry detergent as she pulls it out. I walk over and take it from her. "I was just going to do some laundry," I say. "I thought the sink would work well..." She cuts me off. "Oh no, no need to use the sink. Grab your clothes and follow me." She walks out of the room. I put the detergent on top of the laundry basket and follow as I keep an eye on Rick who keeps staring at me.

As I round the corner I see Carol going into a room I haven't been in yet. I walk in. A laundry room. Wow, a big laundry room with a full sink and folding counter. Carol leans over the washer and raises the lid. "Here, use this."

I frown at her. "Is there enough electricity to use that?" I ask. She says, "Yes, of course. This community was planned as a sustainable community. Hence the solar panels and independent wells and water. They bought the best energy rated appliances on the market. It doesn't take much to wash the clothes and you can use the dryer too."

I hear Rick walk up behind me. He says, "In fact the only thing we don't use is the A/C. It drains the system too much, but everything else is fair game. Luckily the houses are well insulated so they don't get as hot as they could. And, there's always the basements that stay cooler."

I look back at Carol. "This place is unreal, you know?" I say. She pats me on the shoulder and says, "I know. It takes some getting used to." She brushes past me and I turn to the washer and get the clothes started. When I'm done, I turn around and Rick is still there watching me from the doorway. I walk up to him and can't quite slide by him as he's blocking the door.

He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. His hand lingers on my cheek before falling away as I pull back in alarm. "You clean up well," he says before turning away to head back into the kitchen. I follow him with my heart beating a million beats a minute. What was that, I wonder? Why does this guy get such a reaction from me?

In the kitchen, Carol shows me where she has put everything and what kinds of supplies she has brought over. I am overwhelmed--this is more than we've had in months. There's enough food here to keep us alive for 6 months or more if we ration carefully. I also smell something delicious--what is that? As the smell hits me, I sway on my feet and have a hard time staying upright. "Woah there," I hear Rick say as he grabs my shoulders, propping me up. "Are you OK?" he asks. I can feel him right behind me.

"I'm fine," I say. "Just a little dizzy for a minute there. What's that incredible smell?" I ask, looking at Carol.

She grins at me. "A casserole in the oven, it'll be done in just a few minutes. When did you last eat, sweetie?"

"A casserole," I mumble under my breath. "I didn't know those existed anymore." I move over to sit in one of the chairs in front of the counter. Rick assists me, making sure I get settled OK.

"It just takes a little creativity and you can have a casserole," Carol comments. "You didn't say when you last ate though." The timer on the stove dings and she turns to remove the food. I hear the kids running down the stairs like a herd of elephants. I smile to myself, they definitely know when food is about to appear.

"I ate last night, don't worry." I reply. I hear the kids coming up around me. Kira says, "You ate, Mom, but you never eat enough. You only take enough to get you by and give the rest to us."

Carol says, "Yes, that's what Moms tend to do. Here Mom, eat up. I want to see that plate clean," she says as she passes a huge portion of the casserole over to me and starts scooping out portions for the kids.

My eyes are wide. There is no way I can eat all of that. I pick up the fork and poke it a little. Rick leans over me and whispers in my ear, "Yes, you need to eat all of it. You are seriously malnourished I think."

I eat while the kids eagerly scarf down their portions, moaning at how good it is. I agree, it's the best thing I've tasted in a very long time. I manage to eat about ¾ of it, but I am so full there is no way I can eat the rest. I look up at Carol in despair and she knows what I'm saying. She grabs my plate as Rick protests telling her I need to finish it all. "Rick, I think her stomach has shrunk so much that she just can't. We got a bit in her, we get more in her later. I'll just wrap this up."

Rick stands there looking at me contemplatively. "OK, change of plans then. Interviews can wait until tomorrow. I'd like you all to go to the infirmary to see Denise. She's our Dr. and she can check you out and make sure you're OK."

I protest, "I'm fine, really. I just had a moment there. The kids should be checked out, I agree, but all I want to do is sleep for about 3 years."

He grabs my hand and helps me out of the chair as I start to get up. I sway slightly again. Shoot.

He narrows his eyes at me and says, "You are not fine. It probably isn't a big deal, probably just lack of good food, but you all need to be checked out. You can sleep afterwards, I promise."

Seeing that I'm not going to win this war, I concede and follow them all out of the house and down the street to the infirmary.

A/N  If you liked this chapter please consider giving it a vote and I would love some comments!  Please tell me what you think of my story so far.  What do you think of Rick and Sandi's interaction so far?